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pelmet

American  
[pel-mit] / ˈpɛl mɪt /

noun

  1. a decorative cornice or valance at the head of a window or doorway, used to cover the fastenings from which curtains are hung.

pelmet British  
/ ˈpɛlmɪt /

noun

  1. an ornamental drapery or board fixed above a window to conceal the curtain rail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pelmet

1900–05; perhaps alteration of palmette (or < French palmette ), employed as an ornament on wood or plaster window cornices

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One of the curtains hung at a tilt below the pelmet, and though the windows were open, the air was dank, as though exhaled many times.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

A long, blurred strip of daylight reflected on the ceiling above the pelmet was all that broke the darkness.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.